The Art Of

Leviathan
By Deanna Crisbacher

About Fantastic Voyage

For the final project of year one at Computer Animation Arts we were to choose on of four different Bioscientific Scenarios to create a
one to three minute CG animation. The process begins in preproduction where I researched my chosen scenario: Antibiotic
Resistance. I then began to look at visual influences and generated several influence maps that led to my thumbnails and final
concept art paintings. After writing a script and creating a storyboard I then put together an animatic with a temporary voice over and
sound effects that I gathered and edited. Then, I created orthographic drawings in order to model my assets in Autodesk Maya that I
later created custom textures for. I also hired a professional voice actor to voice my narrator for my final animation. By following this
pipeline from preproduction to production and finally to postproduction I was able to create my first Computer Generated Animation.

Visual Concept
My initial art direction was inspired by games such as Spore, The Binding of Isaac, Slime Rancher, Limbo, Insanely Twisted Shadow
Planet and Dont Starve. I was also inspired by images of cells and other microorganisms when looking under a microscope. However,
as my ideas developed towards a sea monster theme my visual concept and influences changed to be more realistic and less cute.
My influence maps and thumbnails changed to reflect my projects development. My final visual concept was inspired by films and
games such as Jaws, Alien, and Subnautica. Various artists including Tim Burton, H.R. Giger, and artwork found on Artstation
influenced my art direction. However, I drew most of my inspiration from animals and environments in real life such as kelp forest
landscapes, Angler Fish, Moray Eels, and the Giant Tigerfish.

Initial Influence Map

Final Influence Map

Thumbnails and Sketchbook

Pages

Initial Thumbnails

Initial Thumbnails

Initial Thumbnails

After this group of thumbnails I came to the

conclusion that the bacteria needed to look less
friendly and cute. Since my animation is about
antibiotic resistance, the bacteria needed to be
the bad guys. However, I felt as though some of
the colours and textures were working well. I
also began to experiment with the idea of the
antibiotic possibly being a character.

Antibiotic Thumbnails

Antibiotic Thumbnails

Developing Bacteria Thumbnails

Initial Environment Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Environment Development Thumbnails

As I was exploring different types of environments

for my bacteria, I decided to experiment with the
idea of veins/nerves. I thought this looked similar to
kelp forests which then inspired me to research kelp
forests and other ocean environments instead of my
original microscope idea. I believe this is what led
me to a more interesting and engaging environment
for my animation.

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

After experimenting with the kelp forest idea, I

decided to redesign my bacteria once again to
resemble deep sea creatures and other marine
animals. These eventually sparked my Leviathan
themed story and script.
!

The kelp forest is a metaphor for the ocean within

the body, for example the stomach or blood. The
sea monsters are the bacteria, which were inspired
by the Moray Eel and Angler Fish. The Leviathan
is the superbug that has become resistant to
antibiotics and was mostly inspired by the Giant
Tigerfish.

Bacteria Sketchbook thumbnails

Bacteria Sketchbook thumbnails

Final Concept Paintings

with buildup

The Script

Storyboard & Animatic

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Orthographs

Kelp Orthographs

DNA and Pill Orthographs

Bacteria #1 Orthographs

Bacteria #2 Orthographs

Bacteria #3 Orthographs

Leviathan Orthographs

Leviathan Orthographs

Experiments and Tests

After Effects - Underwater Light Rays and

Particles

I experimented with various ways

to create an underwater effect for
my animation. I decided to look
into what sort of special effects I
could add in post production in
an attempt to reduce render time
within Maya. I found a tutorial by
Video Copilot to create light rays
and water particles to give an
underwater effect. I also played
around with some filters as a way
of coloring my animation.

After Effects - Underwater Light Rays and Particles

still

Maya - Parti_Volume Node, Caustics, and Photons

I tested out a method of creating an

animated underwater light through
the use of the parti_volume node in
Mental Ray. Since Caustics/Global
Illumination/Photons were turned on
for this method it took a very long
time to render a few seconds worth
of animation or even a still. While
this method of lighting looks great,
the rendering time is a significant
drawback.

Maya - Parti_Volume Node, Caustics, and Photons

Stills

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined

Even though my Leviathan

model was not textured at this
point, I thought it would be a
good idea to test out the
different types of lighting and
effects I was experimenting
with. This way I could see what
look it would give to my models
and possibly think of other
ways to create similar effects
that might have a lower render
time.

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined

Still

Maya - Fluid Test

To create the fluid that

comes out of my pill, I
used particle emitters
and reversed gravity. I
made the particles a
blobby material and
changed the different
settings in order to
achieve a thick sludge/
fluid appearance.

Maya - Fluid Test

Still

Maya - Fluid Test

Still

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined

In one of my scenes, the

resistant bacteria makes the
antibiotics dissolve. In order to
achieve this effect, I continued
to experiment with particle
emitters. This time, I followed a
tutorial about using animated
ramps and particle emission
from objects to make a 2d
plane appear as though it is
dissolving away.

Maya - Dissolve tests

Still

Autodesk Maya
Modeling

Kelp Model Progress

Kelp Models
Untextured, Wireframe, Ambient Occlusion, Shader

DNA Model Progress

DNA Model
Untextured, Ambient Occlusion, Shader

Pill Model Progress

Pill Model
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria Model Progress

In order to be efficient in Maya, I

decided to model one of my bacteria,
layout the UVs for texturing, then reuse
assets to finish off the model and to
reuse for the other models. One of my
first challenges was creating the mouth
but once that was completed I began
modeling the rest of the bacteria. I
assigned the objects different shaders
so the wireframe could be seen and
added Ambient Occlusion to each of
my models as well. The finished models
are smoothed, however I tried to keep
the models as simple as possible.

Bacteria Model Progress

Bacteria #1
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria #2
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria #3
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Leviathan Model Progress

Unlike the bacteria models, my Leviathan

is only going to be seen from the front.
Because of this, his model looks odd since
he is essentially a puppet. Since the
Leviathan is the superbug I decided to
make his mesh a lot more complex and
detailed than the other bacteria. Instead of
just relying on bump mapping, I chose to
model some gnarled parts on his face and
jaws to make him look more skeletal and
monster-like. He also has a second row of
teeth and extra eyes. I ran into some
problems making this model forcing me to
rebuild some parts such as the inside of
the mouth to try and keep the model as
clean as possible.

Leviathan Model Progress

Leviathan Model Progress

Leviathan
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Leviathan
Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Autodesk Maya
Deformers, Rigging, and Skinning

Kelp Sine Deformer

Leviathan Rig

Music, sound, and Narration

Adobe Audition - Sound Editing

I tested out a method of creating an

animated underwater light through
the use of the parti_volume node in
Mental Ray. Since Caustics/Global
Illumination/Photons were turned on
for this method it took a very long
time to render a few seconds worth
of animation or even a still. While
this method of lighting looks great,
the rendering time is a significant
drawback.

Adobe Audition - Sound Editing

To create the sounds within my
animation, I searched various
websites such as freesound.org
to find audio clips. I then brought
them into Adobe Audition and
edited them to change their
sound to create soundscapes,
sounds for my bacteria, or other
sound effects.
By playing around with duration,
pitch, reverb, and adding various
other effects I was able to create
unique sound effects. I also used
some music clips such as Echoes
of Time v2 (Kevin MacLeod) which
I found on incompetech.com.

Voiceover Artist - Jon Strickland

After using a temporary voiceover a

fellow student recorded for me to
use in my animatic, I searched for a
professional voice artist for my final
animation. It was more difficult to
find the right person who was
available than I originally expected.
Luckily I was able to hire Jon
Strickland to voice my narrator. His
previous clients included Volvo,
Tesco, Sony, Microsoft, Panasonic,
BBC2, Sky One, London City News
Radio, and many more.